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Gospel of John
The Gospel of John also known as 'The Book of John '''or simply '''John ' is the fourth book of the New Testament, and the forty-third book of the Bible. It is written by the Apostle John as one of the four gospels and gives historical accounts of Jesus Christ's actions and miracles on Earth from his perspective. The Gospel of John does not document several accounts, that all three other gospels includes, and documents events only found in that Gospel. For example, John is one of the two gospels that does not include any account of Jesus's birth or nativity, the other being the Gospel of Mark. John's Gospel has a focus more on the divinity of Jesus Christ and His status as being both man and God. John begins his Gospel by documenting the existence and involvement of Jesus during The Creation and by introducing John the Baptist and his ministry. Authorship Purpose The Gospel of John was written by John the Apostle. John wrote his gospel in order that people reading it would believe that Jesus Christ was the MessiahJohn 20:31. It is very evident that John wrote his Gospel with a larger emphasis on the miracles and actions that showed Jesus as God's son compared to other Gospels with much more of a historical emphasis. For example, John's gospel is the only one to document Jesus first miracleJohn 2:12. The Gospel also does not document any major events in Jesus's life before His ministry. While the book does discuss the Resurrection and the second miraculous catch of fish, it does not discuss other post-death actions of Jesus. There were several miracles, John did not recordJohn 20:30 as he suggested they were so numerous the "whole world not even have room"John 21:25, metaphorically. Self-Mentioning John is written with a more specific focus and mentioning of the author, the apostle John. John often refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" and in the book identifies himself with himJohn 21:24. The first usage of this self-mentioning phrase was when Jesus revealed to his disciple that he would be betrayed by one of the apostles. During this the literary work mentions that the "disciple whom Jesus loved" was reclining next to himJohn 13:23. This account then goes on to describe of how that disciple leans on Jesus's chest and ask who the traitor would beJohn 13:25. Another reference to "the one Jesus loved" is when Jesus was experiencing crucifixion, he gave the duty of caring for his mother to himJohn 19:26. This self-reference is used again when Mary Magdalene discovering Jesus was not in his tomb, went to the loved disciple and Simon PeterJohn 20:2. This account goes on to detail that when the two disciples ran for the tomb, the loved one outran PeterJohn 20:4 and went in and inspected the tomb firstJohn 20:5. Later when Jesus reappears to his disciples it is this loved disciple John that first exclaims that it is the LORD visiting themJohn 21:7. John also follows along when Jesus and Peter have a conversationJohn 21:20 about the status of John after Christ would leaveJohn 21:21-22.This phrase was used not in pride or self-promotion of the author or that disciple, but rather in humility and choosing to remain anonymous only mentioning the relationship with Jesus. John also declares his eyewitnessing of multiple of the accountsJohn 19:35, testifying the knowledge of the truth. Based on the explicit identification of the author as this disciple and the amount of times in which John's actions are mentioned in more detail than others, this affirms John's authorship of this Gospel. There is not any explicit mention in the work being authored by John. Genre As the other four gospels John is a historical account. Compared to the other three gospels, John is less concerned about a synopsis of Jesus's life and actions, but rather His miracles and teaching that demonstrate His divinity. Not all of the miracles of Jesus are documented, because of the large amount(several of these are written in other Gospels some are not recorded in the Bible at all). No other literary genre is included in the Book of John other than the infrequent and indirect quoting of Old Testament prophecies, poetry, and laws (laws were usually referenced in dialogue). Compared to most biblical historical accounts, John's gospel includes heavy amounts of dialogue.The dialogue in itself contains many quotes exchanged between various people. This Gospel also does not include any large portions of Jesus's sermons or prolonged writings of dialogue. The dialogue gives the teachings of Jesus and shows the curiosity of the Disciples, and the refutations of the Jewish leadership such as the Pharisees. Accompanying the dialogue is varied length of pure historical documentation. Verses Category:Books Category:Gospels Category:New Testament Books